Just like the Orange, The Fizz got back on track last week with a perfect prediction slate (5-0) in the win over Central Michigan. Here’s what the guys think about this week’s matchup in Syracuse’s first road game and ranked opponent of the season:
Logan Grossman (2-1): LSU 51 Syracuse 13
Saturday’s game against Central Michigan was a tale of two halves. The Orange were lackluster and unimpressive in the first but looked more like the offense we hoped they’d be in the second half. With that said, it doesn’t really matter which Syracuse team shows up in Death Valley this week. LSU will have absolutely no trouble scoring against the porous Orange defense, even more so now that running back Derrius Guise has been ruled in after being ruled out. The Tigers are coming off of a bitterly disappointing performance and they will take their anger out on the visitors. In short, Death Valley will live up to its name when Syracuse comes to town.
Tyler Aki: LSU 41 Syracuse 33
This is going to be a wacky game. In the Orange’s first primetime game of the season, Dino Babers is going to be reaching into his bag of tricks. These are games that recruits are going to watch and will make a difference for the future. Last year when Syracuse played LSU, we saw a wide receiver pass, plenty of deep balls and that signature hurry up offense. This Orange offense is going to try to take advantage of a relatively inexperienced Tiger defense that starts three freshmen in the secondary. If the offensive line can buy Eric Dungey time against an SEC front three, then SU’s offense will get some big plays in this one, which was a major key to its win over Central Michigan. On the other side, the Orange’s defense has been pretty good this season. While it’ll let up a good amount of points, it will feel like it still played a pretty good game.
Drew Carter: LSU 35 Syracuse 17
The Tigers don’t have a stud running back behind Derrius Guice, whose knee might bother him throughout the game. I’d venture a guess that the majority of college football fans couldn’t name LSU’s starting quarterback. The team plummeted halfway down the rankings ‚Äî from No. 12 to 25 ‚Äî after last week’s 37-7 shellacking at the hands of Mississippi State. The Tigers have flaws. They’ll still manhandle the Orange. Syracuse will get pushed around in the trenches, and after a surprisingly competitive first half, Guice will wear down the SU front seven and erupt in the last 30 minutes. LSU ‚Äî still a top-10 team, for my money ‚Äî runs away with this one.
David Edelstein: LSU 44 Syracuse 31
It’ll actually be a high scoring game (like in 2015) with two fiery offenses going head-to-head. Syracuse has never lost to LSU by more than 10 points (despite what “LSU v Syracuse” sounds like at first thought), but that will change this time. Star running back Derrius Guice is out for LSU this weekend, so that might give the Orange some breathing room, but the Tigers have many other offensive weapons to deploy in his place. Expect a good offensive game on both sides with LSU ultimately edging out Syracuse once again.
Tim Leonard: LSU 38 Syracuse 14
From basically the start of his tenure at SU, Dino Babers has pinpointed year two game four as the time when his teams typically start to learn his system and peak. Well I think it’s safe to say Dino might be regretting that promise right about now because Syracuse’s offense is certainly going to have a tough time clicking on Saturday night. LSU’s defense is filled with pro-caliber athletes that have the speed and talent to expose Dino’s young offensive line. As for the Tigers offense, led by superstar Derrius Guice they aren’t too shabby either. LSU’s premier edge-rusher Arden Key will be in Dungey’s face all night long and the Tigers will outscore the Orange by 20 in the second half en route to a blowout victory.
JD Raucci: LSU 42 Syracuse 17
The Tigers got punched in the mouth last week versus Mississippi State and they’re going to be angry and raring to go when the Orange heads to Death Valley. With Derrius Guice officially back in the lineup for the LSU offense, the Tigers’ attack is at full strength and should move the ball well against the SU defense. As for the LSU defense, well, it all comes down to Arden Key. The junior linebacker is playing in just his 2nd game this season and he’ll be getting to Eric Dungey all day, making his outing very uncomfortable. In the end, I just think LSU has too much talent for Syracuse to handle and the Death Valley faithful make things really difficult for the Orange, resulting in big bounce-back win for the Tigers.
